Managing and enforcing your patent

The term of a patent is 20 years from the Date of Filing of the patent application, subject to the payment of annual renewal fees.

To maintain your patent, you will need to pay an annual renewal fee, starting from the end of the 4th year from the Date of Filing, and every year thereafter, until the patent expires.

In the event that grant was issued after 45 months from date of filing, all renewals due will only be payable within 3 months after the date of grant.

You can renew your patent by submitting Patents Form 15 together with renewal fees. If you have made an entry in the register for Licence of Right, you can renew your patent at half price, using Patents Form 53. Licence of RightsApplying for a License of Right

If you are interested in licensing your patent to a third party, you may wish to endorse your patent with a Licence of Right (LOR) after the patent is granted. This can be done by applying for an LOR entry to be made in the Patents Register. An LOR may help you attract licensees, and your patent renewal fees that are payable after the LOR entry is made would also be halved. However, this means that you cannot refuse to license the invention. The terms of the LOR are to be negotiated between you and the licensee. If both parties are not able to reach an agreement on the terms of the LOR, either party may request the Registrar to settle the terms of the LOR.

To apply for an LOR entry to be made in the Patents Register, you will need to complete and submit Patents Form 28 (S$70). If the Registrar is satisfied that you are not precluded by contract from granting licences under the patent, he shall make the LOR entry.

Cancelling a License of Right

If you wish to cancel an LOR entry in the Patents Register, you will need to complete and submit Patents Form 30 (S$70). If the Registrar is satisfied that there is no existing licence under the patent or that all licensees under the patent consent to the application, and the balance of all renewal fees which would have been payable if the entry had not been made have been paid, the Registrar may cancel the entry.

If you are interested in obtaining a licence to someone's patent but do not know where to start, you may start by looking at our Patents Register for patents that are endorsed with a licence of right entry. To facilitate the search process, IPOS has consolidated a list of Singapore patents with such endorsements. The LOR list contains details of all live granted patents with a LOR status extracted from the Patents Register. However as the LOR status of a patent can change (e.g. if a LOR endorsement is cancelled), you should check the Patents Register before relying on the information in this list.

(in the case where the invention is a product) makes, disposes of, offers to dispose of, uses or imports the product or keeps it whether for disposal or otherwise

(in the case where the invention is a process) uses the process or he offers it for use in Singapore when he knows, or it is obvious to a reasonable person in the circumstances, that its use without the consent of the proprietor would be an infringement of the patent or

(in the case where the invention is a process) disposes of, offers to dispose of, uses or imports any product obtained directly by means of that process or keeps any such product whether for disposal or otherwise

You can exercise your rights under the Patents Act by taking legal action against the infringing party, including seeking relief in the form of an injunction to stop the infringing action, demanding for the profits gained by the infringing party at his expense and/or, seeking damages for the loss suffered.

Revocation of your patent

Even though your patent has been granted, anyone can revoke the patent by applying to the Registrar. Revocation proceedings can take place on the grounds that:

The invention is not a patentable invention.

The patent was granted to a person who is not entitled to the grant.

The specification does not disclose the invention clearly and completely for it to be performed by a person skilled in the art.

The matter disclosed in the specification extends beyond that disclosed in the patent application as filed.

The amendment or correction to patent application or patent should not have been allowed.